


only them, the neon lights, and the arcade machines know

by 4419blues



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 80s, Arcades, Bang Chan & Lee Felix are Best Friends, Bang Chan is a Good Friend, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Mentioned Hwang Hyunjin, Mentioned Kim Seungmin, Mentioned Lee Felix (Stray Kids), Mentioned Park Jinyoung (GOT7), Secret Relationship, minsung - Freeform, minsungbingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:42:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23459560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4419blues/pseuds/4419blues
Summary: every thursdays and saturdays, the small arcade among the alleyways of ikseondong is a perfect place for two boys who seek validation and affection― it's the only place wherein they can bask in each other's warmth for the mean time.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 15
Kudos: 83
Collections: MINSUNG BINGO: Round One, works i'm happy of





	only them, the neon lights, and the arcade machines know

**Author's Note:**

> \+ hello !! this is my first time joining a bingo ao3 event, but i will try my best to commit to this (and use this opportunity to try different kinds of topics).
> 
> \+ before reading this, i would like to alert everyone that there will be a minor flashback (?? i'm not sure if this is the right word) of minho's parents being homophobic. if you are not comfortable, please skip paragraph 7.
> 
> \+ lower case intended (i might have to not do this soon, though)
> 
> \+ boxes filled: au-80's, secret relationship
> 
> \+ lastly, please check out @minsungbingo on twitter if you are interested with this event <3

thursdays and saturdays are jisung's favorite days. from another person's perspective, liking thursdays sounds awkward, considering fridays exist, when good stuff usually happen— mtv top ten hits are updated and mangas are restocked on convenience store bookshelves.

however, jisung never fails to insist that thursdays hold their own charm. thursday is like the calm cousin of friday– it may not offer a wider variety of exhilarating activities, but at least he gets to do trivial things (example, ordering a scoop of mint chocolate ice cream from a diner across his university) without him feeling the need to mingle with a crowd and braving long lines. thursday is also the time the university's cafeteria has blueberry cheesecake– jisung's guilty pleasure. although it painstakingly costs double than what's usually being offered in the menu, the perfect chemistry of saltiness, sweetness, and sourness against his taste buds is enough for him to dedicate a fifth of his weekly allowance for it.

as for him liking saturdays, it does not really need much of an explanation– teenagers crave the addicting sense of freedom before having to bury their nose again on their workbooks the next day. saturday is like the cathartic half of the weekend, the eve of the _pre-monday_ that is sunday. traditionally, on every first saturday of the month, a new set of flicks (not necessarily new though) is being put up on the local movie theater. when jisung was still in high school, he arrives at least 20 minutes before the metal doors open to question the cashier of the new choices of movies. he used to even witness how the staff replaces the thick stock paper posters neatly laid out on the red-bordered glass frames attached to the grayish walls of the building.

well, that is jisung's memorized script whenever his mother asks him why a different wave of happiness emanates off him every thursdays and saturdays.

but beyond the translucent glass doors of the neon-lit arcade situated in one of the narrow alleyways of _ikseondong_ village, the unscripted reason and hushed secrets await.

despite the generally warm atmosphere of the village, the residents can be piercing cold towards any two boys who dare hold hands before them. with that, the said arcade is the only place minho and jisung can receive the validation and affection they crave– the only place wherein they can bask in each other's warmth clandestinely for the mean time.

for seven months now, that is how they keep themselves sane despite the hustle and bustle of university life and the stinging words minho hears from his very own father. unlike jisung's mother, minho's parents are aware of his sexuality. their reactions of them finding out that he is bisexual are forever etched in his mind like a dry seal– a constant reminder that he will always be seen different. his mom is not vocal of her disappointment, but her eyes convey the messages she does not wanna say– not that minho would want to hear them anyway. as for his father, well, he thinks things can only get worse. one time, minho purposely missed the daily arcade endeavor because he did not want jisung to see his busted upper lip, thanks to his father's relentless knuckles. as for jisung, rejection is the thing he fears the most– that's what keeps him from coming out as gay to his catholic mother, his only parent left. the 1980s is not the greatest time to be alive if your sexuality deviates from the norm, especially if you live in the spiteful christian-infiltrated south korea, and the young souls learned it the hard way.

  
_"men are only for women and women are only for men!"_

_"homosexuality is a sin!"_

_"liking the same sex is not love– you're just sick in the fucking head!"_

  
their worries, however, dissipate into thin air instantaneously whenever they step inside the moderately busy and welcoming family-run arcade of the bang family.

  
°.☆•

  
it is a thursday night and jisung is relieved– grateful even that he is still intact after dealing with the demands of his professors. i guess it's just fair that meeting minho is the only thing he is looking forward to.

chan, minho's korean-australian senior from the economics department, greeted them by the door with an expecting dimpled smile. he is donning a black aerosmith " _murmur_ " three-fourths paired with a primary-colored windbreaker. he also let his jet black hair be naturally curly today, which is highly unusual of him. minho looked at chan inquisitively. "okay, tell me what's the deal right now."

chan rolled his eyes before pushing the two further inside. he went back to his spot behind the counter before pulling out beige tickets from a drawer. jisung was quick to notice the words " _dead poets society_ " printed across them. "i'm gonna go on a movie date."

jisung laughed before snatching the tickets from chan's pale hand. "hyung, why do you have three tickets? are you seeing two people?"

" _dumbass_ ," chan retrieved the tickets from jisung before shoving it inside the pocket of his windbreaker. "well, sorry that was rude. i'm all for polyamory, trust me." a chorus of laughter enveloped the three of them. "no but really, i'm not gonna be on a date _date_. i'm actually just gonna accompany those sick pining bastards hyunjin and seungmin."

 _ah, them._ jisung thought. he shares the same contemporary arts class with hyunjin while seungmin is just an acquaintance to him.

"so basically a third wheel?" minho deadpanned while fighting back a teasing smile.

chan rolled his eyes matter-of-factly. "hell _no_. i won't seat with them. god knows how much i'm gonna gag if i would and then my ticket will be wasted. i'll be sitting at least five rows before them so i can focus on the movie." he stared at the circular desk mirror to run his hand on his hair one last time.

"then why are you dressed up so nicely?"

chan looked away and mumbled almost inaudibly. "felix said that the new cashier boy looks like my type."

" _jesus_ , hyung. you're hopeless." jisung commented but chan just laughed, completely accepting the fact.

"come on, i can't just always be a matchmaker. this shit is tiring. i want a lover, too. you think i don't see you and minho being disgustingly annoying when together? i wanna be disgustingly annoying with someone, too."

minho flipped the curly-haired boy off, and jisung just laughed along with chan. "alright then. good luck, hyung. you do look decent than normal."

"thanks a lot, minho. truly, a very supportive friend." chan strapped his wrist watch on and stuffed his wallet inside the back pocket of his denim pants. "i guess, i gotta get going. the oblivious lovebirds can't go inside without me."

minho and jisung bid their goodbyes to chan and watched their giddy friend leave the building with extra springs on his feet. 

chan usually supervises the arcade on thursdays and saturdays, except this thursday because of the movie. ever since chan found out about the young couple's situation, he has become, in jisung's words, the _pillar of hope_. luckily for them, chan's family is also equally as understanding so they do not think lowly of the two whenever they steal chaste kisses under the flicking purple neon lights near the _donkey kong_ machine.

the place is not what one would think big, but it was spacious enough for them to wander around and not be noticed by other people who are too engrossed on setting their own records and in competing with their friends. minho is very appreciative of that fact.

"jisung, why do you suck at this?" minho commented while pointing at the screen. a small smile graced his face while staring at the dejected frame of his boyfriend. jisung continued to space out at the machine screen in disbelief– this is the third time the ghost caught up on him before he could even eat a power pill. minho placed his right hand on jisung's face to push him lightly away from the machine. the younger scowled.

"fuck _pacman_. _space invaders_ is the superior game anyway." jisung swatted minho's hand away from his face before tugging at the older's white and mustard stripes sweater. "let's just play that instead."

"nah," minho replied, a laugh threatening to escape his mouth. "the last time we played that, you didn't talk to me _at all_. not only that– you accidentally stepped on my foot when i brought you some _bungeoppang_ from jinyoung-hyung's food stall. we weren't even able to try the newly-installed pinball machines." 

"fine then." jisung gave up, dropping his hand that was once at the fabric of minho's sweater to the side, daringly close to the older's left hand. "let's try the pinball machine. your treat, though."

the next two hours was a pure bliss although more than half of it was spent on one of the pinball machines slotted at the back corner of the establishment. they didn't play pinball right away though as minho couldn't resist the pout on jisung's face when he longingly looked at the _space invaders_ machine at the center of the arcade. after taking turns in trying to beat the high score for a little over 40 minutes, jisung finally succeeded, and the older did not hide his fondness by squishing the younger's full cheeks. after that, jisung dragged minho by the hand towards the pinball corner. 

turns out, both are unbelievably _awful_ at keeping the ball "in action" after being catapulted. at one point, when jisung was close to beating minho's futile record, the older dug his index fingers on each side of jisung's waist that he wasn't able to relaunch the ball.

"what was that for?" jisung exclaimed, while pinching minho's ear hard. the culprit's laugh was highly contagious, unfortunately for jisung, so it did not take long before the two were gasping for air.

"alright, enough violence!" minho whisper-shouted in between laughter. "do you still have a few bills left?" jisung nodded in a heartbeat. "good, i still have a few bills left, too. let's just try the claw machine before they close."

of course, since claw machines are notorious for (legally) stealing bills from the players, jisung is still empty-handed and plushie-deprived after five tries. he was about to pull another bill out the left pocket of his khaki pants when minho laughed near his right ear. jisung flinched at the sudden noise and at the proximity of their faces. "what the fuck–"

when he turned around, minho was holding a tiny _keroppi_ plushie by the little handle looped at its head. he dangled the green frog in front of the younger with a proud smile on his face. 

usually, jisung would (playfully) yell at the other for flexing his small achievements. for some reasons, right now, he can only muster an enamored smile as a reply. in all jisung's honesty, he _extremely_ adores how the older's round-rimmed glasses enhance his currently crescent-shaped eyes– it has been a long time since he last wore them. it does not help that the magenta lights from the _sega tetris_ machine was intricately highlighting minho's face, acting like a faint, personal spotlight. to say the least, minho is, dare jisung say, _breathtaking_.

"stop that before i punch your face."

"aw why?" minho cooed, moving his head to the side while giggling. _ah shit_. "is it because i got one and you didn't?"

"fuck, _no_ , you wish." jisung quickly retorted. "okay, maybe yes but only by 2%."

"where did the 98% go, then?" minho prompted, stepping closer while laughing. _the audacity of this bitch_ , jisung thought.

by this time, they are the only ones playing, much to their relief. they can finally be explicitly true to themselves. to be fair, there is only 8 minutes left before closing time.

jisung spoke barely above a whisper. "because you're so damn adorable."

minho pursed his lips while looking at the younger intently, debating within himself whether he should trust his own voice to retort or let the silence speak for itself. he is not entirely sure if he should really do it here because usually, they go inside the tiny storage room of the arcade beside the vintage gumball dispenser– thanks to chan for giving him a spare key. when jisung was about to play again, minho quickly held him still to press his lips against the younger's trembling ones. at first, none of them were moving; it was as if their closeness is already enough. but then, when jisung's eyes fell shut and he boldly threaded his fingers on minho's brown hair to pull him closer, who is minho to not act? the older responded fast to the prompting of the younger by pulling him by the waist and holding him closer. to anyone who despises hearing two boys' hearts beating in sync, this is such a cursed sight. but in the eyes of these two lovers, this moment can never be more perfect.

"wait, sungie." minho spoke in between the kiss. "let me just put my _keroppi_ on top of the machine." jisung laughed against minho's lips before pulling away with a smile. it did not take long, though, before the older reconnected their lips together. 

to minho, this is what tranquility is– jisung's tongue dancing along with his. usually, he is wary of being this bold since he does not really know up to what extent the repercussions of his actions are if someone, _hypothetically_ , walks in on them. however, at this moment, jisung's lips feel like a warm, inviting fire amidst the blizzard of his thoughts– so comforting and reassuring that he keeps clinging onto them like his lifeline. when they were moving in perfect harmony, his problems do not matter. jisung's current actions are a non-verbal indication that he feels the same. all the taunting voices in their heads are drowned out by the simultaneous beeping of the machines, their own breathing, and ironically the mellow sound of berlin's _"take my breath away"_ playing from a jukebox nearby. under the incandescent light, the two figures immediately became one– jisung's back against the ufo-themed claw machine, red v-neck shirt untucked, while minho's hands were all over the former. the _back to the future_ poster hung by the counter was there to witness all of it.

what more can minho ask for than being reunited like this with his other half? flushed cheeks against flushed cheeks. swollen lips against swollen lips. salty tears against– wait, _tears_?

before minho can process anything, he heard a loud female voice. "channie, are you home alre– oh- _oh my god! i'm sorry_."

jisung gathered what little strength he still has to push minho away, his face flustered– both because of their impromptu make-out session a few minutes ago and of the fact that mrs. bang walked in on them while it was happening. they both bowed to greet her nonetheless. after such an awkward encounter, minho retrieved his plushie from the top of the machine and apologized together with jisung. chan's mom assured them that it was alright, although her eyes scream traumatized. they bid their goodbyes. "take care, boys."

once they were outside, the oblique sense of security vanished as if it never existed. as they greeted the november air with hesitance, they felt like fugitives again– trying hard to blend in with the crowd while keeping an eye out for possible informants. _should loving someone of the same sex really feel like committing a crime?_ with their hands intertwined, jisung felt minho tensed up. he squeezed his hands to bring him back to reality. 

" _it's okay. we will be okay._ " jisung said, putting up a confident facade even though he is just as unsure.

nevertheless, jisung's words were effective enough for minho to breeze through another night of silent treatment from his mother and unsolicited opinions from his father. "yes, _we will always be._ "

when they parted ways, they knew that they need to pretend once more that they fit the grim mold of what the society considers morally upright. until then, they need to patiently wait for saturday so they can be themselves again.

_until then, they would have to live with the secrets only them, the neon lights, and the arcade machines know._

_(well technically, chan's mom knows, too.)_

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if there are errors because 80s literally happened 20 years before i was even born so 😳 
> 
> anyway, everyone please stay safe and wash your hands <3 peace out
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/interludehan)


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